Show LETTER FROM ERASTUS SNOW copenhagen benm denmark a I 1 I 1 aw august rust b 5 to the first presidency odthe of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints greeting BELOVED BRETH BRETHREN belr RElf knowin knowing g your anxiety and your prayers and unceasing diligence for zion at home and for the welfare of the cause of god in all the world I 1 take great pleasure in writing to you at this time to communicate to you a statement of the condi condl condition tion and prospect of affairs in this part of the vineyard in which it has pleased god and my brethren to assign my labors for a season I 1 shall forward this immediately to pres t orson hyde at kanesville Kanes ville in hopes that it may reach you by some late mail that by the next springs mail you may give me such counsel as your wisdom shall direct by the advice and consent of those of the twelve tha that were in england I 1 concluded to take with me elder george P dykes ile he having preached much among the tile nor w e gians glans i in illinois and having a little know knowledge of their lano lang language mage as well as manners and customs I 1 tK thought ought if the lord opened the way may to send him into that country to open the door of the gospel among among them the spirit of the lord lora has hag seemed to lead me roe to this city to commence our labors from my first appointment my mind rested upon copenhagen as the best place in all scandinavia to commence the work and every thing has since strengthened my convictions vict ions it atia is the capital of denmark and was at one time the capital of the united King kingdom douis of denmark if norway arway and sweden it is a beautiful city strongly fortified numbering about inhabitants and is by y far the largest and most influential town in in the kingdom and from its central position on the ewt at side aide of the island of zealand 9 within four miles of the swedish shore it affords an easy communication by steamboat to the principal places of norway sweden and denmark it is the seat of learning for all the north of europe and I 1 might add of raft infidelity and politics and in my opinion it possesses more of the tile spirit of freedom than any other place in this part of the world notwithstanding after the revolt of sweden norway still continued under the danish government until the fall of napoleon when the allied powers power as a a sort of punishment upon denmark for her alliance with france gave norway i ay to the king of sweden since sinde since which ty time me norway arway though nomi nominally liall sub suh subject act to the swedish ki king g has lias had bad her domestic mes meb e legislature and enjoyed a greater te degree of political irr freedom edom than either cither of or the other two countries the government of denmark until recently was an absolute monarchy th the king and his ministry both made and executed the law and ind t the e lutheran clergy had the superintendence and control of all the primary schools school s and public instruction of the country with the exception of certain special privileges granted to the jews and to foreign mechanics who had been invited into the country but no foreigner was permitted to attempt to proselyte from the evangelical lutheran church or preach against her doctrines on pain of being expelled from the country which has been enforced tze a against ast several foreign missionaries within the ie last as t ten or fifteen years and would have been against us in all probability if we had come a little sooner mr sir peter C monster the baptist reformer introduced immersion and now the baptists number in denmark about three hundred and sixty only at first he was fined afterwards imprisoned and when he had served out one term in prison he would preach until the priests would cause him to be arrested and imprisoned again and so continued until he was imprisoned six times and three years in all meanwhile french philosophy infidelity and republican principles have been increasing in this city and throughout the country until about the time of the late revolution in france the death of the old kino king king of denmark afforded the danish people an opportunity to reform their government the heir to the throne was kept at it bay until a constitution or ground law was agreed upon signed and proclaimed june 5 1849 this secures to the people a Rigs dagen or legislature to be elected b by t the e people and quite as much POLITICAL FREEDOM as is enjoyed in england the press is sumal sufficiently free and untrammeled for all purposes for which we wish to use it and while it protects and supports up ports the lutheran church as the state church it secures to the citizens the right to dissent and organize other societies but the rights and privileges of such societies are to be defined d h hr v law the 0 oid ad laws are t tt he te enforced u ij d the legislature legit lature shall organize the different biffi n ai departments depan depar of goberni government tent aid aad provide all the nee nary mary inary laws and regulations fur carrying into est dat the new con lutheran Luther anini m is protected by similar laws lams in norway and ard sweden not conr lo 10 aga some methodi ts were expelled cap lied from fron ae S eden and quile quite recently bo no baptists na n ar were arrese arre h J 1 n d bentt ar d to leave the country and an ltd vid neal beal eed eld wua wils t taun kin uin to the king and petition petitions ix a in the repeal of those lav iad quite yule a i is ig going on in the swedish p a about 11 i and I 1 pray that it may bc be i hi i ed unia t I 1 norway and sweden shall fc A ac the exa lykle irole ole of denmark I 1 feel quite willing that ta th lard should use the methodists and basilista Bai bal tista lista to pre prepare 11 the way for the falness of the gon goo pyo pel pei for or t their systems s are less lew exceptionable to 1 the wicked and the they have more sympathy to sustain them wow how truly can we behold in these things as in every other move mova among the tiie nations natio aa the fulfillment of the words of jesus in the book of mormon that when these things shall come forth among the gentiles the work of the father shall commence amon among all nations is IN THE WAY WAT for the restoration restoration oathee of thee 0 house of israel we came by steamboat from hull on the east cast of eti Efi england gland giand across the north sea and the mattegat Catte gat to this place in a little more than three days we lve landed june the first le legislature elected under the new constitution was in session session they adjourned in in july to meet again in in october the first session was occupied with willi the political and financial amm aff mairs affairs and they tiley adjourned without providing the laws necessary for carrying in into execution the provisions of the constitution relative to religious societies there are a number of priests in the legislature end and they will stave off any action on the subject as long as they can there was waa howe er a bill under consideration relating to the press and religious societies which winch however was to include those societies scie scle ties only that already exist properly organized in the country tr if that is the turn things are to take in in the tho it 4 9 giB lature I 1 trust that the priests have been boen b en used by the lord to stave it oft off to give us lime time to organize before the tile law lav passes but orom from the tile manner in which wincil some of the danysh danish D nish papers have commented upon it I 1 at a i led to hope that thai it will be modified for the betl bett r among other important reforms that will tt U be much in our favor is is the abolition cf of the odious internal passport system astern ss teri tern rr aarni ni ily their own citizens were libie bale to arrest ald and aid imprisonment inthey if they were caught even fur one night beyond the limits of their own ami avi n t tari v n or parish without a import laport pa port th s c renewing of passport sinan aig uig oters laid luid counter chaing truing them by police otera r at every stop place and the incon incon ven ui c P ind exo u attend attending ing inz it has his ala be bei it a sot cp 4 if great nuisance ance to t til ti iv who oho ho wisht ishi d jt f ili ill tit f vel vei tl ti ta loid lold hasa t i uly been prepa ring the w b 10 i ua Us r lit iiii nil nii tily but ile he has al also aiso s 0 B et BC C d dt t 1 v 11 it and cr c n ont tin dinces inces a aid d i A a I 1 up on OU 1 ni nice ft r ji kloe line I 1 come 3 i 11 1 ining fa i a t is i mar 11 1 us in in our c W ha hid bid one ier lur in briw vw with pr eriks i f the cop i 1 n rn n univ s wala wila wi i PJ P J 1 boor baor it 11 1 ft who lio iio is an ic i 1 lv IV bi t I 1 it a roud soud k i aih lih echol a I 1 i pros pres 1 i i ieli d til ali ll int nit I 1 ir ar t K or r to th tad ind iud hiv havi I 1 i 1 I 1 acqui acqua ces s with 1 i mp mr M nid ind others i v i il 11 ii n il and ind lra ira ir 1 filid nl I 1 and ind i i UK tai tr of luti wi ai ni n from n hai id i d va v i 11 itemus t 1 itna nd ill anat i ri rt ill ili I 1 li ilidio ii e to id i 1 thi hi i oi 1 I i chii col coi t I 1 id I d w 1 i 1 eido eldo eldont nr i I 1 i d i liiv i but ut it i I 1 I 1 ilent anent t vi ve i but v 1 d it t and t tion t i e i nc a able ible as yet etther eitner to i danli danik lo 10 i flir ti r the pre s and thou 11 not to ecat tc create at i ic ap r nc fit or n dc a sil sll I 1 i T r T I 1 0 ol 01 c i p d i rk s tte tie lod lord will koon soon to publish I 1 in 01 ajla sla t h t n of f ti t i ri n and pro t d i f tl a lil lid nd ill c L i n v t ja AA var 1 11 L AJ i j I 1 ronn rora ue tue doctrine and such as I 1 thought wisdom for the kiet kiel L devis B r CHOICE PASSAGES in the book of mormon bro hanson had been so long in america that he had beame become very dull in his liis native tongue and having no bible arany or any other danish book with him in america as might have been expected his translation of the book of mormon was very imperfect and will necessarily have llave to be thoroughly aly revised before it goes to press by use however he has become sufficiently brightened in lle ile the lie language to be able now with the aid of dictionaries and the danish danith scriptures to render a tolerably correct translation of common plain language he lie is diligent and zealous but I 1 find that his mind is better stored with TRUTH 5 sand and prim than with arguments and reason on the other hand elder dykes is full of scripture and convincing arguments and he be is making rapid progress in the language and lis his whole soul is engaged in the work and together they do dog dol daltit tIT FIRST nate RATE last list monday bionday the of august we began to baptize and baptized fifteen the first night and eleven more during tle week making twenty six in all the greater part of thel thea are from mr air nion Alon monsters followers and the best he had and many more wore efthem of them are belie beile believing while I 1 ile lie tile llie rest of f them are full of wrath vinh an and indignation in vi igna ti ion lon mr air al M hi himself who received us at first and opened the way wa for us tomorra acquaintances w with his pe people 04 now it were upon a pinnacle undecided winther to forsake his people or the truth still lie he will not turn against us and those that have left him hlin and his influence is exerted for good and I 1 still hope and pray diat that he may nifty follow among those that are baptized are Ger germane maus mens swedes and danes danee all however understand the danish they are well grounded in the work and firm gehad we hd mth us busone one copy of ElderO elder 0 gernon work which we kept moving among the dutch and when we found any that could read tead english we gave I 1 hem them en ehst I 1 lish books and to the danes we read bro fl ansons translation of the book of mormon and doctrine and covenants ac we have operated only in private and in small lawny tawny meetings but ii e have now arrived at the time when we tt e shall no longer seek retirement ti but notoriety we hope boon soon to find a large public place and we thank god that the seed wed has sprang up mp and has deep root so that iffe if we are banished from the country the work will spread the lord lias has visited these believers with many visions and dreams and mani manifestations festa lesta of the holy spirit and some have told us that they had seen us its in visions before we came cime they have drawn out ofus of us by their faith evera tl thin thil iiri part jiin to the tile gathering tit rf den tn n of 1 d di id A c and amk kukit it ti iii ill r x di it it 11 liln 1 h i r I 1 1 x hi ic ii I 1 t i iino lyu iti ITU f them scattered over the country preaching the arl ard if the lord permit I 1 shii sh sli H 11 endeavor t 1 gi t the ahe bok bo boh L of f pric nilon rhon I 1 in in the c mr urs of t alif h 1 ill and v 1 t r I 1 have n idt t mu li 11 r i r r 1 i 1 t ha L ia i r i 1 time it can be P r perv revised and I 1 can ai low mow nak that th it i i rini in dut 1 in ir its Is owl ov ii nal nai mi nat mt t I 1 i 1 r tn tri di i 1 FW i 1 ti t f ats abr g 1 ot 0 I 1 ts S g g lalen taken the leau in inis uns north country co so that works in danish may be le read and 1 1 B s a I 1 r ri r jr i i fd swe and as for norway although they have their rustic dialects yet the danish is the public language odthe of the state I 1 should like to know your minds about the book of doctrine and covenants whether if the lord should raise up much people cople in this country and the way should ee be opened before us would it be advisable to attempt to translate and publish it entire or publish from time to time such portions of it as circumstances shall seem to require what little I 1 have seen and learned convinces me of this tills fact that it is no easy anat matter to translate them with all the force and spirit with which those revelations are written in english the english is much the richest language and the IDIOM of the two are ENTIRELY rM iRELY As far as my experience and observation extend the hie danes are a kind and hospitable people especially the middle and lower classes and a higher tone of morality pervading them than exists in the corresponding classes in england and america and if I 1 mistake not my feelings the lord has many people among among them bro john forssgren accompanied us to this tilis place and stopped stopa a few days with u ur and then we blessed him and sent him on his way the lord is with him he is full of faith falth and the holy ghost from here to the home of his childhood where his relatives relative ii are is about six hundred miles in a northeast direction up the tiie baltic all that we have heard from the valley since since we ave lefi left was your general epistle of april 12 which was brought T from the valley to the bluffs by mr air livingston and from there to liverpool by elder pratt a proof sheet of which was forwarded to me in a letter I 1 received july as 27 and after perc perv sing it forwarded it to bro forss Fores forssgren gren it was a precious morsel to us all As to the signs of the times and the aspect of affairs among the nations of europe dark forebodings for the future seem to pervade all hearts and the beads of the nations seem to be conscious that they tiley are steering the ship of state in DAN ban GEnoUs SEAS denmark is at present the HIP point of the greatest interest the dukedoms Duke doms of holsters if and ihma aich are mostly gner GLer germans mans have been in a state of REVOLT ever since the death odthe of tiie tike old king tile new government has been unable to compel their submission several severe battles have bave been fought and both parties still seem to be moie snore and more desperate on the and of july a battle was wae fought in sies sieb wick wiek in in w which inch out of |